November 4, 2015
Jesusita by Ronald Ruiz
Jesusita is the story of immigrants—legal and illegal—trying to survive in California in the years after World War II.
About Jesusita
Jesusita, alone and impoverished, struggles to keep her four young children together. Though she finds support from Padre Montes at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church, her faith won’t solve her problems, especially those with her daughter, Paulina. Far from home, Filipino laborers are denied by law any contact with white women. Angie, the young daughter of an illiterate and unmarried mother, knows only one way to make money. And Felix, abandoned by his mother and separated from his only brother, is placed in a foster home on an isolated ranch. The interrelated lives of these people provide a complex, sometimes violent, and often tragic image of American poverty within the nation’s postwar boom.
My Thoughts
Jesusita, tells the story of one woman who has struggled to earn a living in a country that is not accepting of her culture and a society that would do anything to keep their existence hidden.
Jesusita is the main character in this novel and the other characters seem to move around her and as we get to the later half of the book we understand the importance of finding out about the lives of Angie and Felix. It is from her the story flows and that we learn about the others tied in to her story and her struggles. She suffers to keep a roof over her children’s heads and food in their stomachs. This is a pain that I can not even begin to imagine experiencing as a Mother. The emotional and physical strain takes a toll on her and we can witness this through the relationships between herself and her children.
It is God that helps her through her darkest moments but also that helps her hide her frustrations and angers instead of dealing with them. She hides behind the perfect image she portrays to her religious family, while her home life falls apart.
Jesusita was a fascinating novel, that at times was hard to follow but near the end of the novel the story comes together full circle. It is complex, intricate but fascinating at the same time. A very good read!
You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Rating: 4/5
About the Author
After reading Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment at the age of 17, I knew I wanted to be a writer. But I knew nothing about the craft. My first novel, Happy Birthday Jesús, was published 36 years later. Surprisingly, it received good reviews
For many years, I was a criminal defense attorney and at the end of my career a prosecutor, but I always managed to find time to write. What I saw and experienced during those years often serves as a basis for my writing. For me, learning how to write has been a long, continuous and, at times, torturous process.
Now retired, I try to write every day and I feel fortunate that I have found something in writing that sustains me. I’m glad I persevered during all those years of rejection. More than anything, writing about what I see and experience in life has given me a sense of worth.
The Giveaway!
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 3, 2015
SuperKind: Help Spread RAOK Around the World
How many of you have been personally touched by a RAOK? Maybe someone paid for your coffee on a day you were running late, held a door open for you instead of rushing off and slamming it in your face or maybe a neighbour cleaned up your leaves as a surprise. Every little act of kindness goes a long way to help make our world a better place! SuperKind wants to help you, help your child learn these valuable lessons.
So what exactly is SuperKind?
SuperKind is a personalized product aimed at spreading RAOK around the world while building a team of RAOK superheroes! Each SuperKind kit contains sixteen custom kindness cards, sixteen custom stickers and a certificate to stick the stickers to.
The cards are double-sided and about the size of a business card (2″x3.5″). On one side of the card is a picture of your child performing a RAOK. The idea is for your child to perform the act of kindness and then pass the card on encouraging the next person to perform an act of kindness in the next seventy-two hours.
SuperKind wants all children to be able to participate in this campaign, so right now you can receive a free digital version of this campaign just by sharing the Kickstarter page. A win-win for all children (and their parents too!).
You can also enter to win a $500 Cash giveaway on the SuperKind website right now! Make sure to head over there now to enter and find out more about this awesome project from SuperKind.
November 3, 2015
Murder on Safari by Peter Riva
In Murder on Safari, it is up to a reality TV producer and an expert safari guide to stop a terrorist attack.
About Murder on Safari
Every adventure starts at the fringes of civilization. For expert safari guide Mbuno and wildlife television producer Pero Baltazar, filming in the wild of East Africa should have been a return to the adventure they always loved. This time they’d be filming soaring vultures in northern Kenya and giant sea crocodiles in Tanzania with Mary, the daughter of the world’s top television evangelist, the very reverend Jimmy Threte.
But when a terrorist cell places them in the crosshairs, there is suddenly no escape and they must put their filming aside and combine all their talents to thwart an all-out al-Shabaab terrorist attack on Jimmy Threte’s Christian gathering of hundreds of thousands in Nairobi, Kenya.
My Thoughts
Murder on Safari is an intense, action full novel that demands your full attention. Peter incorporates the language of the African countries they travel through (with some explanation to the terms so you just have to pay a little bit more attention to the first time the words are used but it doesn’t take away from the story). I loved how action packed the entire novel was from start to finish as they traveled East Africa and explored the wilds while trying to escape terrorists. There was never a really dull moment.
Despite the action packed adventure in the story, there was just as interesting story line playing out behind the scenes in our main characters of Pero and Mary. Pero has lost someone close to him and it is this loss which helps him on this mission. Mary is the glue that holds the story together, a very important part of the novel and how the story unwinds.
Murder on Safari was a fantastic read from start to finish, that readers will not want to put down.
You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Chapters.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Peter Riva spent many months over thirty years in Africa, many of them with the legendary guides for East African white hunters and adventurers. He created a TV series (seventy-eight 1-hour episodes) in 1995 called WildThings for Paramount TV. Passing on the fables, true tales and insider knowledge of these last reserves of true wildlife is a passion.
The Giveaway!
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 2, 2015
War for the Waking World by Wayne Thomas Batson
Would you be willing to fight for your dreams? In War for the Waking World, the Dreamtreaders must do this.
About War for the Waking World
Fifteen-year-old Archer Keaton has the ability to enter and explore his dreams. He is a Dreamtreader, one of three selected from each generation. Their mission: to protect the waking world from the Nightmare Lord who dwells beyond the Slumber Gate. But as Archer’s dreams become more dangerous and threatening, so too does his waking life.
In this fast-paced conclusion to the exciting fantasy trilogy, the dream world and the waking world bleed into each other when a rift is formed between the two. People in the real world suddenly find their waking lives resemble their wildest dreams. Now it’s up to Archer and his fellow Dreamtreaders to race to reverse the rift before too much damage is done and to battle Archer’s ex-best friend, Kara, who sits on the throne of the Nightmare Lord. Kara is building an army of her own. Will Archer be strong enough to stand against her?
My Thoughts
An extremely interesting and unique read from start to finish. This novel follows the dream and fantasy world and the interesting divide that is between them. In this novel that divide has fallen down and now it is hard to tell reality from fantasy. It is up to the Dreamtreaders to fix the rift if they can before the world collapses into fantasy.
A well written and thought out novel. While it was the conclusion of the trilogy, I did not feel lost or confused without having read the first two novels. The plot was incredible and I love the way it built up quickly and never lost momentum. The Dreamtreaders were amazing individuals who can conquer up objects at their own will (now that would be a skill I would love!). The best part – they were all young children and teens! Talk about making it great for youth to relate to and get lost in while reading. This is a novel that people of all ages will love!
You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Wayne Thomas Batson is an American writer. He has been married to his wife, Mary Lu, for seventeen years and has four children. He currently works as a teacher at Folly Quarter Middle School teaching sixth grade English language arts and is the youngest of four children. His most recent series, Dreamtreaders published by Thomas Nelson Inc (2014), is a modern-day paranormal YA adventure dealing with the subject of dreams.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 2, 2015
A Kindled Winter by Rachel Demeter
Two lives collide in A Kindled Winter by Rachel Demeter and they will never be the same.
About A Kindled Winter
A week before Christmas, Jeseca Reed sets off for Blue River, Oregon, her childhood home and a vault of tender memories. Fate takes an unexpected turn when she’s left stranded in the mountains’ vast and untamed wilderness. Desperate and alone, she seeks shelter at a cottage and finds herself in the arms of a mysterious stranger.
Dr. David Drake was once a renowned cardiovascular surgeon. But a devastating tragedy has left him scarred both inside and out, unable to use his hands to operate again. For the past five years, his Blue River cottage has been his sole escape—a safe haven where he can shut out the world and bury himself in his grief.
Together they are summer and winter. Fire and ice. And yet a poignant connection forms between them. Jeseca awakens David and thaws his heart with a romance hot enough to melt snow. But before David and Jeseca can fully embrace each other, they must wade through darkness and confront the ghosts of their pasts.
My Thoughts
I absolutely LOVE the way Rachel writes. She pulls you into the story and immerses you in their lives, their pain, their hope and their love. A Kindled Winter does all of this and more.
David has experienced a pain that no person should ever have to (telling you would give away the hardest part of the book and you really want to read it to find out!). He forces seclusion on himself so that he can almost punish himself for his past. His past has left him physically, emotionally and mentally scarred. No matter how hard he tries to escape his past, he feels tormented by it but almost wants to feel the pain as he feels that he almost deserves it. This is the type of pain so many can relate to when they have suffered a great loss. You feel alone, you feel like you should be punished and all you want to do is almost feel pain.
Jeseca is a breath of fresh air, almost literally as she lands on his front step after an accident during a snow storm. While she has her own painful past that sometimes surfaces throughout the novel, she has learned to move forward with this pain (even though she has not fully accepted her past).
Jeseca and David are both scarred and in pain but it is this pain that draws them together and helps them work through the worst of it and move forward. They need each other in order to move forward, to accept the past for what it was, to treasure the good and bad and to hope for the future. The ending was full of such hope that you almost don’t want it to end! I wanted more of their story. A Kindled Winter will leave you wanting and wishing for more (hint hint Rachel!!!). Well written, great story full of emotion that leaves you craving more – you can’t ask for a better read!
You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Rachel L. Demeter lives in the beautiful hills of Anaheim, California with Teddy, her goofy lowland sheepdog, and her high school sweetheart of eleven years. She enjoys writing poignant romances that challenge the reader’s emotions and explore the redeeming power of love.
Imagining dynamic worlds and characters has been Rachel’s passion for longer than she can remember. Before learning how to read or write, she would dictate stories while her mother would record them for her. She holds a special affinity for the tortured hero and unconventional romances. Whether crafting the protagonist or antagonist, she ensures every character is given a soul.
Rachel endeavors to defy conventions by blending elements of romance, suspense, and horror. Some themes her stories never stray too far from: forbidden romance, soul mates, the power of love to redeem, mend all wounds, and triumph over darkness.
Her dream is to move readers and leave an emotional impact through her words.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.